Celebrating Bounce Back moments with Calpol

When your child has a minor illness, it’s certainly not the worst thing in the world, but every parent knows that it can be exhausting!

Fever, coughs and colds, earache, teething, post-immunisation fever – there’s a long list of culprits that can quickly disrupt family life and have you longing for your child to be back to full health asap. The moment when you realise that they’ve bounced back from a minor illness is an absolute joy!

I’ve been asked by the makers of Calpol to share my own children’s Bounce Back moments, as part of their campaign to celebrate the brand’s 50th birthday.

Calpol want us to join in with their 50th birthday celebrations by recalling those lovely Bounce Back moments, when our kids recover from minor illness and family life returns to normal. Hurrah!

Having nursed Miss J through repeated sore throats ever since she was a baby, I’m only too familiar with that sinking feeling when we realise she’s coming down with another bug. I can tell from her behaviour when it’s about to happen; she starts to refuse all but the plainest of foods, is more easily upset by squabbles with her brother, and finds it hard to get absorbed in play for any length of time.

It can be nerve-wracking dealing with a poorly child; you can see that they’re suffering, and all you want is for them to be well again. Disturbed nights and juggling work commitments doesn’t make it any easier either! To prepare ourselves as best we can, we tend to look out for those early signs and prepare a little bit bit by stocking up on easy-to-swallow foods, as well as medicines that are specifically designed for the children’s ages.

After a couple of days of cuddles on the sofa, distraction tactics, and pain relief when required, it usually feels like we’re over the worst. And just as her behaviour tells me she is becoming ill, Miss J’s behaviour also tells me that she has recovered. When she’s making up lots of imaginative role-play games, eating family meals without a fuss, refusing to stay cuddled up in her blankets and generally being her usual chatty, inquisitive self, I know she has bounced back.

Miss J had her own rather comical Bounce Back moment when recovering from a sore throat at the age of almost three. She’d been groggy for days and spent all morning under her duvet on the sofa. When it came time to pick JD up from school, she was fast asleep. so I decided that even though she’d outgrown needing her pushchair, I’d lift her into it, strap her in, cover her with her duvet and allow her to rest during the walk.

We rounded into the playground, picking up a few looks of confusion from fellow parents as I wheeled by with a huge wad of bright pink duvet poking up from the stroller. As I stood waiting for JD to appear, I told the other parents how sick J had been. JD came out of class and ran up to us shouting, at which point J woke up, unharnessed herself, leapt out of the pushchair and launched straight into a game of chase. Needless to say I looked like a crazy mama, but she really had been poorly that morning!

Of course, when the kids are finally back to their bouncy selves after a minor illness, that’s often exactly the point that I have a day of feeling totally drained, and finally let the effects of round-the-clock nursing and fretting come out in the form of a day of barely being able to keep my eyes open! Once I’ve caught up, we usually have a little family treat; the kids’ favourite meal for dinner, then a family film with popcorn. It feels like we’ve earned it!

Do your kids have their own unique Bounce Back moment? Whatever it is, you can share it with Calpol to be in with the chance of winning great prizes. You can share photos, videos and anecdotes of your children’s Bounce Back moments in Calpol’s Facebook competition; there are weekly prizes, as well as a grand prize at the end of the campaign. For more details and to enter, visit the Bounce Back Competition tab at facebook.com/Calpol – and remember to check out the gallery of Bounce Back moments for a few giggles!

Comments

It always amazes me how quickly they can bounce back. Amy did it to me reasonably recently having been poorly for a couple of days I eventually took her to the emergency GP – she had been vomiting, had not wet her nappy and was really very quiet. As soon as I took her into the GP she perked right up and I was mortified. She even did a big wee on the potty. Luckily the GP was absolutely lovely and said that children can go up and down so quickly.